Sharon Schmeling, Executive Director
Sharon has more than 30 years of experience working on public policy in Wisconsin as a journalist, lobbyist, elected official and communications director.
She earned a master’s degree from Villanova University and her bachelor’s degree from Marquette University, and is a graduate of Messmer High School, the first private religious school in the U.S. to participate in a voucher program.
Sharon started her career as an education reporter for The Milwaukee Journal, The Madison Capital Times and the Morning Call in Allentown, Pa. That experience led to work as a lobbyist on education issues for the Wisconsin Catholic Conference and then as a project manager for Dr. Howard Fuller at Marquette University’s Institute for the Transformation of Learning and the American Education Reform Council, where she worked with the Bush White House on education policy issues.
Before becoming WCRIS Executive Director in 2015, Sharon served as the Communications Director of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance think tank, now known as Wisconsin Policy Institute, which specializes in education finance and state budget issues.
While raising her children and sending them to Lutheran and Catholic schools, Sharon worked as a substitute teacher, served on school accreditation and hiring committees and co-chaired a home and school association. Thanks to a very supportive husband, Sharon was the first woman elected to serve as Chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Supervisors. As the chief elected official of the county, which had 750 employees and a $95 million budget, she led local government in successfully navigating a 500-year flood, a 100-year snow fall and the Great Recession.
Sharon was highlighted for her leadership in this Executive Q & A in The Wisconsin State Journal.
Read about Sharon’s high school experience at Messmer Catholic School in Milwaukee.
Abigail Pavela, WCRIS Associate Director / Wisconsin Private School Ombudsman
Before becoming Associate Director, Abbie served as WCRIS Communications and Outreach Coordinator and later Project Manager when she first began her Ombudsman duties. She ran the WCRIS annual administrator and teacher professional development conferences, helped update the Legal Handbook, ran the WCRIS website and provided outreach to schools on federal Title programs, among many other things.
Abbie is a graduate of K-12 private schools and Indiana University in Bloomington, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and studied education policy.
That led her to join the team at Bishop Chatard Catholic High School in Indianapolis, a voucher school, where she worked as a substitute teacher and then Assistant to the Principals. Her work included organizing professional development days; coordinating Title II-A funding; managing the school’s compliance with new state teacher licensure standards; and completing various school reports to comply with the Indiana Department of Education.
Congress requires every state to have an Ombudsman to help facilitate access to federal ESEA programs. Abbie was the nation’s first state ombudsman employed by a religious and independent schools association (WCRIS). She does this work under a public-private partnership with the state education agency, the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. This partnership was approved by then-DPI Superintendent Tony Evers with the support of Gov. Scott Walker.
Daniel Henderson, Project Manager
An interest in innovative school programs and a passion for private school sovereignty underscores Daniel’s approach to serving WCRIS schools.
A native of Texas, he attended a private K-8 school in Austin that provided privately funded vouchers for Hurricane Katrina victims. He saw firsthand the transformation of students’ lives through parental choice. The principal of the school is married to now Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.
Daniel first join WCRIS at Communications and Outreach Coordinator and then School Programs Coordinator. He now serves WCRIS as Project Manager with a diverse background, having worked in a traditional advertising agency where he served a non-profit client, and as a communications director for Marquette University’s Campus Ministry retreats. He created short-term and long-term communication strategy plans and took a lead in event planning. After that, he provided graphic design on emerging apps for a medical startup company in Madison.
Daniel’s expertise includes working with the school safety programs, school choice programs, busing and pandemic aid for private K-12 schools.
He graduated from Marquette University with a degree in Public Relations and a minor in Advertising with a deep curiosity about public policy and political science.
Outside of work you can find him enjoying time with his wife, cooking, hiking and talking to other Amateur Radio operators with his HAM radio.
Michelle Murphy, Communications and Outreach Director
Working for WCRIS in this role fulfills Michelle’s passion for Wisconsin’s K-12 private schools, education and writing.
She is a graduate of K-12 private schools and Wisconsin Lutheran College, where she majored in both English – Writing and Psychology. As a student of private schools for all of her educational career, Michelle is humbled to use her time and talents to serve Wisconsin’s private schools at WCRIS.
She has experience in event planning, publication writing, editing and design, as well as website management for non-profit associations. With a keen attention to detail, Michelle has served various non-profit organizations in her professional career.
Michelle especially recognizes the important work of WCRIS since she is married to a Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) middle school teacher, who also graduated from Milwaukee-area private schools. Together, she and her husband enjoy watching Wisconsin sports, cooking and spending time with family.
